I purchased a old run down farm last year and fences were in bad shape. Where I put in cattle I repaired or put in new fence. There was an old hayfield that the former owner bought part of several years ago. He just put in a temporary electric fence between the two parcels. Two doctors bought the land on the other side of the fence and they contacted me last winter and said the were going to put in livestock. No problem, we split the cost of a survey and divided the property line.

Two months ago I took out all the the electric fence and a few weeks ago a fencing crew called me for permission to access the field from my property. Sure. Shortly after I went to see how they were doing and found out they were putting in 6 strands of barbed wire. I told the crew boss I won't be putting in the same, only the legal requirement. Two days later, I got a call from the doctor's lawyer insisting I put in the same fence to keep their cows in and my cows out. I told him to look up the Wisconsin statutes on fencing requirements and let his client know I am not required to put in 6 strands of barbed wire. That wasn't good enough, I guess, as the lawyer called the next day to set up a meeting with the doctors in his office. No, but will meet with the doctors on the land with Township fence viewers.

The lawyer contacted the local Town Chairman and the subject was put on the agenda for next Town Meeting. I was notified of the fence viewers date and time. Fence viewers showed up at my farm, but no doctors. Fencing crew boss did. It was too muddy to go up the hill road with trucks so I hooked a John Deere on to a hay wagon and away we went. The fence viewers looked it over and said I am not required to install a 6 strand barbed wire fence, but would I be willing to do so if I was compensated for the extra expense. Sure, provided the fencing crew the doctors hired sold me the material to put in at their cost, plus a $100 from the doctors for extra labor.

Here is snapshot of what I put in.

If they can’t handle a 5 strand on a border fence those doctors have issues.

Everyone know Doctors know more about Cows and Fences than anyone else. Rio7

A common belief among doctors is that doctors can do anything better than a person who isn't a doctor and that higher skilled doctors, like surgeons, generally believe that they can do anything better than lower skilled doctors, like GPs. I managed an anesthesiology practice for a couple of very long years. The only female doc second guessed nearly everything that I did. Six months after I left and her husband replaced me, she demanded that I had to come back and fix the problems that her husband inherited. I offered to do so for $300 per hour, with a guarantee of 1,000 hours per year, but I never heard back from her, although a couple of her partners told me that they wished that they hadn't hired her husband to manage their practice. Apparently, he didn't understand how to read and comprehend contracts and he had very poor EXCEL skills, so he didn't produce the detailed monthly, quarterly, and year to date reports that I had automated.

Just another example of people who ranches, but shouldn't.

Talk about horse high, hog tight, and bull strong!

I always put up a 5 strand barbed wire fence. The one exception is a stretch of fence I have that runs through a woods, and that one is a four strand. I did it that way because it is in an area used heavily by deer, and I thought they might be able to cross through 4 strands better than 5. So far, I've had no problems with the cattle getting out, and the deer have not loosened the wire up.

Fencing laws vary from state to state. Around here, when someone wants to build a line fence, they usually just build it themselves, and put up what they want, never asking the neighbor to share the costs, although under Kentucky law they would be required to do so.

Interesting.
Back in the 60s on our farm in western Ks, virtually all the pastures had three wire barb wire fences. They seemed to work just fine then, and were lower cost, obviously. I guess cattle are tougher these days as I see four and five wire fences being installed in that area these days.

Good looking fence.

What is the minimum and how high is that fence?
Tks

You missed a good chance to blow their minds, by 'one-upping' their azzes and tossing in a seven strander......

6 strand is fine. Just needs high tensile electric midway between the lowest and ground and midway between each strand. It'd probably be ok without one above the top strand of barb wire.

I put up my own fence. I sure don't have good neighbors. All moved in after me and none offered to pay me a penny. They won't even help fix it when their stock damages it. Never had any problems with 4 strand. When I was young, Guernsey cows would stay in with a sorry rusted three strand.The few times we ran 2-3 angus, those damn things would search for a weak place and leave the country

48", 60".

Thanks. I meant to ask minimum # of strands.

The key thing when dealing with any Robertwire fence is gates. They must be constructed of at least 4 strands of the wire attached to a number of crooked, dry branches (one or two slats - no more - from some old snow fence may be substituted for branches). The whole apparatus must be made to be at least four inches short of the wire loop on the post to which the loose end is intended to be attached.

We always called the wire gates your talking about, HUG AND KISS GATES. Rio7

For the wire gates, use a kinked pipe for a closer pipe.

This thread makes me miss baling wire. Rio7

You'd think nobody builds fence nowadays, until you try to buy good used posts.

I got a ton of old fence posts a couple years ago.

Friend had the wire down already, and asked if I could come use my puller to pull the posts and T-posts, and stack them. He said he'd find someone else to haul off the mess.

That fence had only been in the ground for less than 2 years. I told him I'd haul it off for him for free.

its the driver that puts them in that cost bucks!

Last price I seen 6' 133 tee post $6 a piece .. last 4 bar H braces I had built were about 400 a piece ...